


The Affection Never Ending

by TheDoctorIsIcecube



Series: The Dead Tongue of Rhodia [1]
Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Foreign Language, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-19
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 21:09:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8593882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctorIsIcecube/pseuds/TheDoctorIsIcecube
Summary: Matteusz asks Charlie to teach him some of the Rhodian language.





	

Charlie liked languages. He liked learning new things, too, which was why Matteusz had taken to teaching him a few words of Polish. Nothing complex, just some simple things murmured to each other as they lay happily in bed together. Although, Charlie wasn't the only curious one in the house. Matteusz found himself wondering more and more what Rhodia had been like, what language they had spoken. It made no sense that Charlie would have spoken English at home, yet his English seemed to be perfect; better than Matteusz's, at least. Regardless, Charlie would have his own language, and Matteusz was very curious.

"How did you speak on Rhodia?" That was the best way he could think of to word his question, his head resting in Charlie's lap as the prince mulled over his homework.

"Fyu de sal teaken fuy entelen," Charlie said, lifting his chin a little to meet Matteusz's eyes with a smile. "We had our language."

It didn't sound quite how Matteusz had been expecting it to, somehow. The words flowed so smoothly from Charlie's tongue, yet there was the slightest hint of something unusual, as if his tongue had changed shape since the last time he'd spoken words like that. "Your language sounds nice," he commented.

"I never speak it," he said, sighing. "Even around Quill. She never learnt our- my language, but I know a decent amount of hers."

"You should speak it more often. Sounds nice." Not that Matteusz would understand a word, but still, that didn't matter.

"Iy dew yi," Charlie said with a smile. Despite the strange sound, Matteusz could tell that it was Charlie's first language. It was the way it shaped around his voice and the ease with which he spoke. His English was always slightly awkward, but this was different.

"What did that mean?" Matteusz sat up to make talking a little easier, stealing a short kiss along the way. "You should teach me some words."

"It means I thank you," he said. "But the level of formality is about the same as 'thanks' in this language." He closed his History notes and put them on the bedside table.

"I want to learn," Matteusz insisted, resting his head against Charlie's shoulders. "Then we will be able to talk to each other in Rhodian and Polish and confuse everyone we know."

"There's no point," Charlie said. "Rhodian is a dead language. No one except myself will ever know how to speak it."

"So teach me. Then it will not have to be dead." If it would make Charlie happy, then damn right Matteusz would commit himself to learning an entire language. He had a very good teacher.

"I don't know where to start," he said. Matteusz moved his head from Charlie's shoulder, ignoring a small noise of protest, and smiled at him.

"You could start with I love you," he said, and Charlie started laughing. Matteusz abandoned the topic of languages for a few minutes in order to kiss Charlie, because he loved that laugh and he loved seeing Charlie so happy. When he decided that Charlie had been adequately kissed, though, it was back to business. "So...teach me how to say that I love you in Rhodian."

Charlie just started laughing again. "But it's so...sexual. Saying that you love me in public would be so..." He trailed off, still laughing.

"We have done more sexual things than say we love each other," Matteusz reminded him. "Tell me. Is our secret. No one else will know what we say."

"Can I teach you something else instead?" He asked, his voice thick with an emotion other than mirth. Matteusz couldn't tell what he was going to say. "Iy de sal teaken, gawen, poulen cuelis say yi."

Matteusz had no idea what the words meant, but he knew they were important. He reached for Charlie's hand, keeping his voice quiet as he spoke. "What does that mean?"

"I will always have affection for you," he said. "In Rhodia, we never believed in always, but I think that's what this means. Teaken means the past, gawen means the present and poulen means the future."

Matteusz was quiet for a moment, and then he pulled Charlie into another kiss. He couldn't help himself. "You are perfect," he murmured. Another moment of quiet, and then he said the words slowly, uncertainly back to Charlie.

Charlie started crying, but for once, Matteusz wasn't too worried. He understood why. Charlie was just mourning his people, mourning his home, something Matteusz expected he'd never really had time to do properly. But the tears were happy too.

He just held Charlie, held the prince of a planet whose people were dead, and murmured gentle words of affection into his hair. However long it took him to calm down, Matteusz would be there.

**Author's Note:**

> The language is entirely made by me :) I'm hoping to work on it a bit more and use it in future fics.
> 
> As always, comments are greatly appreciated, and my Tumblr is fujin-takyumi while my collaborator's is heroofthesheikah.


End file.
